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Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer announced Thursday that his office has secured $1 million in civil penalties in a settlement with Pacifica Hospital of the Valley in Sun Valley over allegations the hospital improperly discharged a homeless patient. (Photo by David Crane/Southern California News Group)

Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer announced Thursday that his office has secured $1 million in civil penalties in a settlement with Pacifica Hospital of the Valley in Sun Valley over allegations the hospital improperly discharged a homeless patient. (Photo by David Crane/Southern California News Group)

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Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer announced Thursday that his office has secured $1 million in civil penalties in a settlement with Pacifica Hospital of the Valley in Sun Valley over allegations the hospital improperly discharged a homeless patient. (Photo by David Crane/Southern California News Group)

A San Fernando Valley-based hospital will pay $1 million to settle a lawsuit over allegations of patient-dumping even as the medical facility denies wrongdoing, Los Angeles city officials announced Thursday.

Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer alleges Pacifica Hospital of the Valley in Sun Valley failed to adequately care for a patient in a March 2016 incident.

Kasey Lucious, who has a history of mental illness and homelessness, was sent to Crenshaw Nursing Home by hospital staff, but failed to check into the facility and was found three days later in the area by the California Highway Patrol, Feuer said.

Pacifica Hospital also settled a lawsuit with Feuer’s office in 2014 over alleged patient dumping, in which the hospital agreed to pay $500,000 and follow a new set of homeless discharge protocols.

Pacifica said in a statement Friday that it contacted a number of governmental authorities after Lucious went missing, including Feuer’s office. Shortly afterword, the city attorney’s office began investigating the matter, Pacifica said.

“Throughout the process, Pacifica Hospital contested the material allegations made by the City Attorney regarding the matter,” according to the hospital’s statement. “Last week, in order to avoid the costs of litigation, Pacifica Hospital and the City Attorney reached a settlement regarding the matter.”

Feuer’s office has made so-called patient-dumping a priority. However, some of the hospitals charged by the City Attorney’s Office deny the allegations.

Hospitals now see an influx of mentally ill and homeless patients and some hospital representatives contend it’s complicated to discharge such patients, who may change their minds about where they want to go. Others may refuse recuperative care.

In Lucious’ case, Feuer alleges that Pacifica failed to follow protocols put in place following the 2014 lawsuit against the hospital. He said the hospital called Crenshaw Nursing home to see if a bed was available for Lucious, but didn’t correctly reserve the bed. Feuer alleged the hospital also put Lucious in a taxi bound for Crenshaw, but didn’t ensure she entered the facility.

Feuer conceded at a Thursday press conference that “there are challenges that hospitals confront in grappling with homeless patients, no question.

“We also know that there are basic protocols that (hospitals) can and should put in place that would prevent someone from being dropped off by a taxi and left to fend for themselves,” he added.

Per state law, the $1 million from Pacifica will be evenly split between the City Attorney’s Office and L.A. County District Attorney Jackie Lacey’s Office.

In a separate case, Good Samaritan Hospital in downtown L.A. agreed in April to a $450,000 settlement with Feuer’s office after being accused of dumping a homeless patient.

Good Samaritan denied the charges, but said in statement it would settle the dispute rather “than expend its limited resources on protracted litigation.”